


Unwind

by marmolady



Series: A New Reality: Endless Ending [11]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24818632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolady/pseuds/marmolady
Summary: (Endless Ending). Letting her guard down doesn’t come easy to Estela; even with Rourke gone and no battles to be won, she has something she can’t bear to risk– Taylor. But Taylor may just be the key to Estela letting herself truly relax… and maybe even find the peace she’s always been missing.
Relationships: Estela Montoya/Main Character (Endless Summer)
Series: A New Reality: Endless Ending [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1366216
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Unwind

Estela grappled with a vine, recovering her balance as she kicked off the-- well, she wasn’t entirely sure _what_ it was, that’d be a question for Varyyn. Some sort of ground-dwelling bird; eyes a flaming red, and with talons like razors. She should have seen the tracks… should’ve been keeping an eye on her surroundings rather than Taylor. The gash that now ran down her forearm would serve as a reminder; _‘you screw up, Taylor will get hurt’._ That thing must have been protecting its nest to be as aggressive as it was; it had launched itself at Taylor out of the undergrowth with no warning. But of course there had to have been _something._ Estela had just missed it.

Her face drawn with concentration, she yanked free a piece of dead branch, just heavy enough to make a sizeable crash as she threw it down toward the thick tangle of bushes in the gully from which the bird came. She held her breath. Obviously it could _see_ that the intruders were still right there up the broad tree, but she hoped that a potential new threat to its nest would take priority. Beady crimson eyes turned up to the branches, then the bird retreated. Estela exchanged a glance with Taylor, who took the hint to carefully manoeuvre herself down to the forest floor, secure in the knowledge that Estela was keeping watch.

Then, they booked it. In the opposite direction, not stopping until they’d put a babbling stream between themselves and the very large, very angry bird.

“Holy _shit_!” Taylor panted. “You think this place is ever gonna stop throwing fun surprises at us?” She looked over Estela’s arm, stained a deep red. “Is it all right if I…?”

But as Taylor moved to tend to her wife, Estela gently caught her hands in her own, her expression solemn. “Taylor, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine-- you _shielded me._ I’m not the one who needs taking care of right now.”

“I’ll wash and disinfect it. I’ll live,” Estela responded brusquely, without breaking Taylor’s gaze to so much as glance at the injury. But the worry she saw in Taylor’s eyes was enough to soften her tone. “It’s… not too deep. It sort of clipped me as I knocked it out the way.”

Together, they sat down upon a rock, and Estela pulled out the first aid kit from her rucksack. _The hell is wrong with you?--_

“You know… you don’t have to be tough all the time.”

Estela looked up to Taylor’s troubled face. _Shit_ , she hated making her feel like that.

“Taylor, it was a stupid mistake! I’m better than that.” She took the antiseptic cream and turned, glaring into the distance. She _had_ to be enough… strong enough, fast enough, smart enough. For all they’d given her, she owed her new family that much… owed _Taylor._

Eyes wide with concern, Taylor scooched closer, and lifted Estela’s chin with a tender hold.“Okay. Maybe you are, but there’s no pressure here-- no life or death, no fight for justice. Sure, we could have gotten hurt, but that wasn’t anything we can’t handle. You’re allowed to screw up every now and then.”

Estela growled her defiance. Taylor just didn’t get it. But maybe it didn’t have to be that way….

“Just because there’s no pressure _now_ ,” Estela began, her voice small, “it doesn’t mean that there won’t come a time when you need me to keep you safe. I… never really told you; everything happened so fast, but… when you fell out of the helicopter, I blamed myself.”

“That wasn’t your—"

“No-- it was. If I’d been able to reach that bit further…. I should have been able to keep you safe, Taylor! Don’t you understand? You were the reason I was willing to live, and I let you slip away. It can’t ever happen again.”

Taylor reached upwards, stroking her fingers through Estela’s hair, brushing away leaves and debris.

“So,” she said, “I slipped through your fingers, and then, when the volcano was erupting all around, _you saved me_. Don’t you dare forget that part. Through everything, you’ve always had my back.” Taylor gently put an arm around her wife’s shoulders and reeled her in as close as she could. The fire in Estela’s eyes remained, born of a need to protect, whatever the cost. No amount of soothing could put out that flame, but Taylor still hoped she could prevent her lover from being burned. “Estela? You don’t think… maybe you’ve just got to adjust the fact that the fighting’s over now? You’ve never lived in a world where you didn’t feel the need to be battle-ready at a moment’s notice. Maybe, maybe your body’s never had a chance to develop an ‘off’ switch. Maybe we can work on that-- together.”

Estela struggled briefly, then she shook her head. “You must think I’m crazy. I’m _acting_ crazy.”

“Hey… You’re acting like someone who cares very much; someone who’s seen firsthand how cruel this world can be.”

For a long while, Estela stared into space without a word, her gaze thoughtful. Taylor was right; how often did she _ever_ totally let her defenses down? They were living on what had been a holiday resort, and she’d never left the room without at least one weapon stashed away on her person. She slept with a freaking spear next to her bed; that wasn’t normal.

 _Screw it._ She stood up abruptly. “Do you wanna go swimming? The sea water might do this cut some good… and we can work on that ‘off switch’ thing.”

Confusion flashed across Taylor’s face; it was, after all, a fast turnaround of mood, but then she smiled, for in Estela’s eyes she saw a precious sparkle of playfulness. She reached up a hand and let herself be pulled to her feet.“…Yeah…,” she said, “I would really, really love that.”

* * *

Stepping out onto the white sand of a secluded bay, Estela undressed. Without pause, she slipped out of her bra, then underwear, leaving them in a neat pile.

Taylor, having followed a short way, looked up to a sight that made her eyes go wide.“ _Oh…”_ she said, “you meant _that_ kind of going swimming.”

Estela threw a smile back over her shoulder with a wicked glint in her eye. That was the point, right? Vulnerability. It was damn hard… the least they could do was to make some fun out of it all.

“But of course. How else will you be sure I don’t have a weapon tucked away? This is all practical, you know.”

“Of course. Always the practical one.” Taylor laughed, reaching behind her back to pull off her own top. _I_ knew _you were up to something! Well, two can play at that, babe._ She strode towards the water, making a show of every movement, and feeling her lover’s gaze upon her exposed body.

Her face ruddy, Estela made a move before she could become any more pleasurably flustered, splashing down into the shallows and sending a spray over a squealing Taylor.

They swam deeper, punctuating every few strokes with physical contact; the stroke of a hand, the peck of a kiss upon bare, wet skin, drawn together as if parting were unbearable to them both. Estela’s wound stung, and she knew it hadn’t escaped Taylor’s notice; she’d see her glancing over it, brow furrowed.

“It’s fine, _mi amor._ Just a scratch. I’ll rub one of those leaves from the rooftop over it when we get back-- there’s plenty up there. Will that make you stop worrying?”

Taylor flushed. _Apparently,_ she’d been obvious. “Pretty hard for you to focus on some proper relaxation when I’ve got a face like you’re dying, hey?”

Estela giggled. “Pretty hard, yeah.”

Even with Taylor getting over her injury-related fretting, Estela found it difficult to work the tension out of her body. She was poised for danger, always, and the second she let it go was the second warning sirens would go off in the back of her head.

_Let it go, okay? It’s just you and Taylor. Safe._

She took Taylor in her arms, delighting in the feel of her, supple and slippery, as they bobbed together in the water. As she inhaled Taylor’s scent in sodden golden hair, she could almost be carried away… to some place they were untouchable, invincible. _This_ was where she found her off-switch, where she could let herself go. She looked up to her lover, her own dark, serious eyes meeting with Taylor’s startling blue.

Taylor could see the question in that loving gaze-- _Is this okay? Is this enough?_ It made affection surge up through the whole of Taylor’s being, warming her from head to toe.

“I love you, Estela Montoya. I love you, I love you.” She hooked her arm around her wife’s torso. “No one’s expecting you to be Raj-level chill, okay? You wouldn’t be you if you were. I just… I just want you to trust that we can be safe, that you _can_ be happy. It’s kinda nice seeing you let yourself go every now and then.”

Estela winced, but her eyes still held a smile. “It’s been a while. Before I met you… I don’t even wanna know how long it’s been.” _Definitely not since Mom…._ “I didn’t even realise how much I missed feeling this way.”

Movement upon the shore caught her eye, and in a blink, she was back on alert. “Goddammit, is that Craig?”

“Wha--?” Taylor hastily ducked further under the water, leaving just her face above the surface. This was just typical; only ten other human beings on this sprawling island, and one of them happened to be strolling along the beach where the two of them were skinny dipping. Great. “You think he’s seen us?”

Estela watched, mostly submerged, as Craig stumbled upon their pile of discarded clothes. He looked up and out to the water, an unmistakably mischievous smirk painted across his face.

“Oh, he better not be…” Taylor muttered.

He reached down, scooping up his friends’ clothes and undergarments into his burly arms.

 _Oh, yes,_ Estela knew. _He is. How the hell am I supposed to let my guard down with that pain in the ass wandering around?_

She gave a sharp whistle. “Hey, _músculos!_ If you think I won’t come out there and chase you down--!”

Startled to the point of almost falling over, Craig hastily shielded his eyes with his hands, pointedly looking away from the direction of the shout. “ _I’m not looking! Everything’s right where you left it, I swear! I’m going! I’m going!”_

Taylor spluttered, coughing up water as she laughed at Craig’s hurriedly retreating figure-- a picture of pure panic. It certainly appeared that Estela’s intimidating aura was holding strong. With their would-be clothing thief gone, Taylor happily popped up above the surface, into her wife’s waiting arms. There, she found herself kissed and kissed some more, between fits of giggles that bubbled up between them, easy and carefree.

Nuzzling her face in close to Taylor’s, Estela hummed her approval. If she could somehow hold onto this… this peace, this happiness… the feeling of Taylor’s body pressed against her, warm and tender… maybe it didn’t matter if the world crashed down around them. This was home. In her arms, Taylor could not be harmed, for she’d never let it happen. Her guiding light was at its brightest, showing her what untouchable serenity could be.

A chaste kiss was all she could manage before the mischievous urge to dip her wife back was all too much… and then they’d splash, and tickle, and laugh, and kiss some more, until there was nothing but to lie back beneath the Caribbean sun and float there, arms entwined.

“Taylor?” Estela put her lover’s knuckles to her lips and kissed them slowly.

Eyes half-lidded as she gazed back, Taylor murmured happily, wordless but doubtlessly understood. “Mmmmm…”

“I’m tired, Taylor. I’m tired of fighting. I’m tired of being one slip away from losing everything. If you could just… help me feel… like _this_ … not all the time-- I don’t think I can physically do that, not yet-- but just…” The words wouldn’t come. Estela gave a quiet huff of frustration.

“...Hey…” Taylor uttered, “I think every now and then we all need to retreat into some safe, happy place where we can just be free… be us. You’re not used to letting your batteries recharge, not fully. I guess, like a lot of things, it gets easier with practice. But I’m here for you, okay? And I can’t tell you what it means that you trust me like this.” _It’s everything._

Estela exhaled deeply, relaxing into the gentle movement of the languid sea. A seahorse-butterfly fluttered just above her, wings appearing to shimmer with the midday sunlight. She didn’t imagine she’d ever experienced this kind of tranquility, been capable of the kind of vulnerability it asked of her… but she liked it.

“Trusting you,” she said, barely more than a whisper above the gentle sounds of the water, “might just be the best thing I’ve ever done. I… gotta thank you for making it so easy. You never gave me a reason to doubt you, were never anything but sincere, open.”

Taylor smiled; big and broad, the sun seeming to shine out from her very being. As far as Estela was concerned, it might just as well. Anchored together by joined hands, their foreheads rested touching as they floated, gazing as one up at a clear blue sky. Maybe… just maybe, peace didn’t have to be uneasy. Maybe peace could just be… this.


End file.
